I've had a peculiar one for the past two days...for PICKLE
JUICE. Might this mean anything???

Let me set the stage: I had been maintaining a relatively caffeine-free
existence for several year, primarily so that I wouldnt experience
troubled sleep or insomnia. It helped a lot. However, since I've
been working at my new school - this started last year, but this
year it has escalate -- I've drinking WAY too many regular colas
and getting tons of caffeine AND sugar.

Yesterday when I arrived home feeling the effects of too much
sugar and too much caffeine, I prepared to pour myself a glass
of water from the fridge. The second I caught sight of the pickle
jar, I knew that that's what I wanted, so I gulped down a glass
of water and proceeded to pour myself a small amount of the pickle
juice and sip on it. I returned to the fridge enough times to
have consumed no less -- and probably more -- than 8 ounces. Today,
although I drank much less soda, I still wanted pickle juice when
I got home, and just finished drinking more than a half cup --
and eating a pickle, as well.

Any thoughts on this. In as much as I have had a sip of pickle
juice from time to time throughout my life, I've never had a craving
for it.

Thanks for any insight you might be able to offer.

L.E.

L.E.,

There are a couple of possibilities... besides the fact that
the sour might be the only thing that would cut all that sweet
taste!

Intestinal Dysbiosis, Yeast Infection (Candida)

One is intestinal dysbiosis, or yeast infection. Also known as
a candida overgrowth... It can happen to both men and women. It
can be a consequence of antibiotic usage. The antibiotics kill
off some of our friendly intestinal flora (the good bacteria),
which allows the bad bacteria the opportunity to grow, and one
of these bacteria is candidiasis.

Candida Overgrowth Symptoms

Here are some possible symptoms of candida overgrowth:

new allergies (eg. to foods)

always tired

poor digestion

gas

heartburn

sugar cravings

irritability

frequent headaches

poor memory

foggy-headed feeling

dizziness

depression

vaginal infections

menstrual difficulties

prostatitis

urinary tract infections

infertility

hay fever

postnasal drip

habitual coughing

catch colds easily

sore throat

athlete's foot

skin rash

psoriasis

cold extremities

arthritis-like symptoms

feel miserable in general

Of course those can be symptoms of other problems like heavy
metal poisoning, latent viruses, etc. Don't even try to make
a diagnosis from that list. See a practitioner who can do some
questioning to narrow it down. If it looked like candida was a
possibility, they could do a stool test to find out.

Why Pickle Juice for Candida?

The reason for a pickle juice craving in candida is that the
vinegar in the juice would feed the candida. They were loving
all the sugar from the sodas... if you won't obey the command
for sodas, they'll cry out for something else. Yes, it's a bit
like an alien invasion- your cravings have been possessed by a
bacteria.

Candida Die Off Symptoms

People with severe candida overgrowth may experience extreme
depression during the treatment-induced candida die-off (anti-fungals
like diflucan and lamisil), which kills off the bad bacteria.
One woman told me she became suicidal and had to drive around
the ER parking lot for hours waiting for the depression to lift.
(She felt safer being near the ER)

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The Sour Taste and the Chinese Medical Liver System

Another possibility comes from the Chinese Medicine perspective.
The sour taste correlates with our concept of the Liver system.
This loosely fits the biomedical liver organ, but includes other
things. Liver system problems include:

eye symptoms

irritability

anger

frustration

yelling, and

finger and toenail problems

Liver Spleen Disharmony

You might have what we call a Liver & Spleen disharmony.
Symptoms of that would include:

Thanks for the reply about the 'pickle juice craving'. I plan
to monitor this, and will mention it to my medical doc and my
chiropractor, both of whom I'm scheduled to see in the near future.
I'm not experiencing many of the symptoms you mentioned to do
with candida overgrowth (gosh, was THAT what Tony Orlando and
Dawn were singing about -- "Oh, oh, Candida...we can make
it together"...haha...yes, I'm strange, very strange!), only

sugar cravings (occasionally)

some dizziness - but only the first day of the pickle juice
episode: a strange intermittent sensation upon turning my head,
and maybe not even dizziness but a peculiar sensation that got
my attention each time it happened

In any case, I was thinking "major sugar overload"
(won't tell you how many soda's I'd had that day...shame-faced
me!!!), and set off the diabetes warning buzzer in my head, although
I have biennial blood work-ups and my blood sugar level remains
in the mid-70s.

Anyway, thanks again for your response...it really seemed so
bizarre to be considering pickle juice as an evening cocktail...I
emptied the jar and pickles had nothing to bathe in! :-)

Thanks a bunch,

L.E.

Interesting-

Dizziness and Vertigo

Yes, the dizziness/strange turning sensation sounds like vertigo/dizziness-
an inner ear phenomenon which can be associated with the Liver
system that I mentioned.

Sweet Cravings

The sweet craving has to do with the Spleen system It's
possible that the Liver needed a boost (from its flavor: sour),
to keep up with the Spleen in the 5 phase system, the Liver
system keeps control of the Spleen system, so if the Spleen was
getting out of hand (excess) with all that sugar, the Liver would
be deficient relative to the Spleen.

Of course it's impossible to diagnose you without more info.
And I wouldn't expect any answers about a topic like this from
your MD- unless they're a pretty way out there MD. Chiro's vary
more than MD's in their preferences, educations, and practices,
so he/she might have some input for you. My bias is to send you
to a Chinese herbalist/acupuncturist, because we have more tools
in our belt to track down weird symptoms like pickle juice cravings.

And remember, your MD won't understand what we mean by the Liver
and Spleen Systems in Chinese Medicine, because it's different
from the biomedical perspective on the liver and spleen organs.
I'm just saying... expect some raised eyebrows if you try to explain
it to them!

Pickle Patterns

Who knows, you might be the case that pioneers a whole new Chinese
medical pattern: Pickle wind phlegm, Liver wind pickle, or Sour
phlegm rising... So get thee to an herbalry- and get your poor
pickles some more juice!

All the best,
B

Brian,

Thanks, yet again, for more info.

I'm fortunate in that my chiropractor is very much into nutrition
and herbal/mineral supplementation, and last year began studying
some of the Chinese methodology...and has incorporated 'median'
and energy flow patterns into his diagnoses/therapies/etc. He's
a very positive force and loves his work in terms of helping people
heal. Cool, huh???

As for the poor living conditions of my mistreated pickles,
I put them out of their misery by letting them perk up a salad
for me (and, tasty little critters, they were!). :-)

Health and happiness to you,

L.E.

If you develop an uncontrollable fascination with pickle
juice, check out this company which actually mass produces a pickle
juice drink: